Well, F1 winter testing has ended and i am still completely unsure on who will be where when we get to Australia. The teams have done all they can to test and gather data before the debut race, with many of the teams completing a good amount of running over the 3 individual testing sessions.
The majority of the teams have taken part in all 3 sessions, meaning they have 12 days worth of data and knowledge of their 2012 machinery. Some, however, have had alot of catching up to do and some have not even started.
Here is a review of the final day of testing, as the chequered curtain falls on winter testing.
The last day of testing saw the Lotus back at the front, after they topped the opening 2 days of the final test. Kimi Raikkonen was quickest at the Circuit de Catalunya and set his best time of 1m22.030 in the mid-morning, with no one able to beat it. He got a good deal of running done, 121 laps, as Lotus try and catch up with their rivals after missing much of the 2nd test. The day was divided into short fuel runs in the morning, with long fuel runs and race simulations after lunch. Raikkonen's race simulation lasted 65 laps and was one of the most consistent of the day, with his performance drop off not going below 1.8 seconds throughout his 4 stints.
2nd in the times finished Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari F2012, just 0.2 off Raikkonen's pace. He completed 115 laps and a long race simulation in the afternoon, which was no where near as quick as they would of liked compared to Raikkonen and Hamilton. Behind him finished Bruno Senna with a time of 1m22.296 being just 0.046 seconds off Alonso's time. The Williams FW34 lapped the circuit 53 times as he shared the car with Maldonado, who lapped the circuit 48 times. Maldonado, however, finished 9th as his time was set in the less favourable afternoon.
4th was a positive result for Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India as he and the team look eagerly on to Australia. He just reached the 100 lap mark with 101 laps completed. His best time of 1m22.312 meant the top 4 were separated by just 3 tenths. Kamui Kobayashi was 1 tenth behind Hulkenberg and the Sauber driver completed 72 laps after he lost a large amount of time when the C31's Ferrari engine had a problem. He said "My test programme for today had foreseen several longer breaks for changes to the car but of course not the early end because of the engine. These things happen, but I am still happy with our achievements. We did a lot of work to learn about the huge variety of set-up and aero options the new car offers."
6th finished Hamilton in the Mclaren MP4-27. He completed 115 laps to strengthen Mclaren's hopes of a reliable car, with his best time of 1m22.430 exactly 0.400 behind Raikkonen. Despite this distance, Hamilton proved the Mclaren's race pace is strong. He was consistently the fastest and most reliable over race runs and was around 0.2 seconds a lap faster than the "Ice man" Kimi Raikkonen. To get such good results and mileage will surely boost team moral in the Woking based squad.
7th at the end of the day for Petrov in the Caterham was an extremely encouraging performance. The team had struggled at the 2nd test but have said they are in "touching distance" of the midfield, somewhere they want to be. Petrov's best time of 1m22.795 was 7 tenths off Raikkonen's best effort but it was a great time for a team who, 24 months ago, were around 4 seconds behind the leading pack. Petrov did lose 30 minutes of running at the end of the session after he beached his CT-01 in the gravel at turn 4. He said "I am more than happy with how we went today. The team has done a fantastic job all day and we've been improving in every area each time we went out. I had my new seat today so I'm really starting to get comfortable in the car and the lap times are coming down, the setup is improving and everything is working really well. "
8th overall finished the Mercedes W03 of Schumacher. The 7 time world champion just broke the 100 lap barrier, something Petrov did do, and made steady progress on a number of different runs. His best time of 1m22.939 left him 9 tenths behind but showed just how close the field are. 9th finished Maldonado, as i said earlier, who took over from Senna in the afternoon.
Like Schumacher, Ricciardo lapped the circuit exactly 100 times on route to 10th. It was further down the order compared to previous days but they still absorbed alot of useful information. His time of 1m23.347 was the first, and 1 of 2, outside the 1m22 bracket but the field were still close. He said "Another day with a lot of laps to add to the high-mileage day yesterday. I have done more running this week than at the previous two tests and we have learnt a lot about our new car, enough to have a basis for the start of the season."
11th and propping up the table, not that we say this very often, was Vettel in the RB8. Unlike its key rivals Mclaren, who experienced a very reliable day, the Red Bull was full of problems. In the morning Vettel lost a piece of the car's front wing after an off track excursion while they also had a gearbox issue which led to him only completing 23 laps. His best time of 1m23.608 is not a realistic look at the RB8's true pace.
So what can we conclude from all the tests? Well, not alot. The running order is still vague, but we can definitely say that each team experienced their own set of problems. They still gathered alot of valuable data and mileage, apart from HRT and Marussia, which means they are more than prepared for Australia.
My F1 2012 season preview will be out by next weekend, focusing on reviewing testing, the drivers, teams, who left the sport and my predictions.
Today's times:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Raikkonen Lotus 1m22.030s 121
2. Alonso Ferrari 1m22.250s +0.220 115
3. Senna Williams 1m22.296s +0.266 53
4. Hulkenberg Force India 1m22.312s +0.282 101
5. Kobayashi Sauber 1m22.386s +0.356 72
6. Hamilton McLaren 1m22.430s +0.400 115
7. Petrov Caterham 1m22.795s +0.765 101
8. Schumacher Mercedes 1m22.939s +0.909 100
9. Maldonado Williams 1m23.347s +1.317 48
10. Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1m23.393s +1.363 100
11. Vettel Red Bull 1m23.608s +1.578 23
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Here is a review of the final day of testing, as the chequered curtain falls on winter testing.
The last day of testing saw the Lotus back at the front, after they topped the opening 2 days of the final test. Kimi Raikkonen was quickest at the Circuit de Catalunya and set his best time of 1m22.030 in the mid-morning, with no one able to beat it. He got a good deal of running done, 121 laps, as Lotus try and catch up with their rivals after missing much of the 2nd test. The day was divided into short fuel runs in the morning, with long fuel runs and race simulations after lunch. Raikkonen's race simulation lasted 65 laps and was one of the most consistent of the day, with his performance drop off not going below 1.8 seconds throughout his 4 stints.
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
4th was a positive result for Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India as he and the team look eagerly on to Australia. He just reached the 100 lap mark with 101 laps completed. His best time of 1m22.312 meant the top 4 were separated by just 3 tenths. Kamui Kobayashi was 1 tenth behind Hulkenberg and the Sauber driver completed 72 laps after he lost a large amount of time when the C31's Ferrari engine had a problem. He said "My test programme for today had foreseen several longer breaks for changes to the car but of course not the early end because of the engine. These things happen, but I am still happy with our achievements. We did a lot of work to learn about the huge variety of set-up and aero options the new car offers."
6th finished Hamilton in the Mclaren MP4-27. He completed 115 laps to strengthen Mclaren's hopes of a reliable car, with his best time of 1m22.430 exactly 0.400 behind Raikkonen. Despite this distance, Hamilton proved the Mclaren's race pace is strong. He was consistently the fastest and most reliable over race runs and was around 0.2 seconds a lap faster than the "Ice man" Kimi Raikkonen. To get such good results and mileage will surely boost team moral in the Woking based squad.
7th at the end of the day for Petrov in the Caterham was an extremely encouraging performance. The team had struggled at the 2nd test but have said they are in "touching distance" of the midfield, somewhere they want to be. Petrov's best time of 1m22.795 was 7 tenths off Raikkonen's best effort but it was a great time for a team who, 24 months ago, were around 4 seconds behind the leading pack. Petrov did lose 30 minutes of running at the end of the session after he beached his CT-01 in the gravel at turn 4. He said "I am more than happy with how we went today. The team has done a fantastic job all day and we've been improving in every area each time we went out. I had my new seat today so I'm really starting to get comfortable in the car and the lap times are coming down, the setup is improving and everything is working really well. "
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
Like Schumacher, Ricciardo lapped the circuit exactly 100 times on route to 10th. It was further down the order compared to previous days but they still absorbed alot of useful information. His time of 1m23.347 was the first, and 1 of 2, outside the 1m22 bracket but the field were still close. He said "Another day with a lot of laps to add to the high-mileage day yesterday. I have done more running this week than at the previous two tests and we have learnt a lot about our new car, enough to have a basis for the start of the season."
11th and propping up the table, not that we say this very often, was Vettel in the RB8. Unlike its key rivals Mclaren, who experienced a very reliable day, the Red Bull was full of problems. In the morning Vettel lost a piece of the car's front wing after an off track excursion while they also had a gearbox issue which led to him only completing 23 laps. His best time of 1m23.608 is not a realistic look at the RB8's true pace.
So what can we conclude from all the tests? Well, not alot. The running order is still vague, but we can definitely say that each team experienced their own set of problems. They still gathered alot of valuable data and mileage, apart from HRT and Marussia, which means they are more than prepared for Australia.
My F1 2012 season preview will be out by next weekend, focusing on reviewing testing, the drivers, teams, who left the sport and my predictions.
Today's times:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Raikkonen Lotus 1m22.030s 121
2. Alonso Ferrari 1m22.250s +0.220 115
3. Senna Williams 1m22.296s +0.266 53
4. Hulkenberg Force India 1m22.312s +0.282 101
5. Kobayashi Sauber 1m22.386s +0.356 72
6. Hamilton McLaren 1m22.430s +0.400 115
7. Petrov Caterham 1m22.795s +0.765 101
8. Schumacher Mercedes 1m22.939s +0.909 100
9. Maldonado Williams 1m23.347s +1.317 48
10. Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1m23.393s +1.363 100
11. Vettel Red Bull 1m23.608s +1.578 23
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